The Family He Always Wanted
by ChickWithThePurpleGuitar
Summary: When Nico was nine, he entered the foster care system for the first time. At ten, he lost his sister and thought he'd never be happy again. Now he struggles through life with the worst parents a teenager could imagine, hoping that someone can help him get through high school. And with multiple health problems and a tendency to have panic attacks, he can use all the help he can get.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I know what you're all thinking. CPG, WHY ARE YOU WRITING NEW FICS? YOU SHOULD BE WRITING THE OH, NICO 50TH CHAPTER SPECTACULAR (I'm working on it, I swear) OR UPDATING FICS THAT HAVE SAT AT THE BOTTOM OF YOUR FIC LIST FOR TWO AND A HALF YEARS (... probably not gonna happen anytime soon, sorry guys). BUUUUUT…. this idea came to me in a dream. Therefore it was destined to be awesome. And it got me really excited :D So I hope you guys like it as much as I do. Please enjoy and review!**

**This chapter is dedicated to Elmlea, because I sent her the beginning of it and every subsequent message she sent me ended with, "Post the chapter!" So, you're welcome.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**WARNING: My only knowledge of foster homes comes from fiction, and my only knowledge of asthma comes from a series of Supernatural fanfics, so bear with me. If you notice anything that's blatantly wrong, please let me know.**

* * *

Chapter One

Black swirls of darkness painted Nico's vision as he was dragged awake from the best dream he'd had in weeks- a dream of happiness and safety, of wonder and adventure. He opened his eyes and immediately covered them with his arm, blinded by the flashlight shining in his face. A warm hand was on his forehead and he leaned into it, groaning as he tried to remember his dream.

"Come on, kiddo," a familiar voice whispered. "Time to get up."

"Already?" Nico murmured sleepily, turning onto his side. "I feel like I just fell asleep."

He could practically hear his sister smirking at him. "That's cause you were up all night reading."

"I like reading."

"I know." They were silent for a few minutes, and Nico almost fell back asleep, but then he heard the click of the flashlight go off and his sister put a hand on his arm. "I'll give you ten minutes, okay?"

Nico nodded and curled up, shivering under his thin blanket as he thought back to his last dream. As his sister started to leave the room, he called out, "Thanks, Thalia."

"No problem, kiddo," she replied, then shut the door.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Nico woke up coughing, a long and hard fit that left his throat dry and his stomach hurting. He buried cough after cough into his pillow until he was wheezing, gasping for breath. Once he was able to calm down enough to get air in, he rolled over onto his back and stared at the ceiling as he caught his breath. It couldn't have been later than 5 AM, but sunlight was streaming through the broken window behind his bed, illuminating the dusty attic he shared with his brother and sister. Percy and Thalia were nowhere to be seen, meaning they'd already started their chores, and probably Nico's too. He was surprised Thalia had trusted him to get up on his own after she'd let him sleep, especially when he'd been up so late the night before, but he was grateful nonetheless.

Nico got up slowly, knowing that if he moved too fast he'd start coughing again. He was still wheezing a little bit, but that was normal for a December morning, so he just made sure his inhaler was close by and left it at that. He made his bed, remade Percy's bed, and got dressed in somewhat unripped jeans and an old t-shirt covered by his aviator's jacket, one of the two things he had left from his real family. Except… this _was_ his real family. His _first_ family, he should say. Once he was dressed, he tucked his inhaler in his jacket pocket and made his way slowly down the stairs, careful not to let the seventh step creak, and joined his siblings in the kitchen, where- just like every morning- Percy and Thalia were arguing.

"It's just a dog," Percy whisper-shouted, waving around what looked to be a large mixing bowl. "What does it matter what he eats out of?"

"You know Nico doesn't like his routines messed up," Thalia hissed in reply. "If you lost the dog's bowl, why didn't you just tell him so he could find another one?!"

Nico tried to clear his throat to get their attention, but it just made him cough again, so he turned away from his siblings and tried to slow his breaths.

Thalia sent a glare in Percy's direction, then crossed the room to put a hand on Nico's forehead. He immediately pushed her away.

"I'm fine," he insisted, taking a deep breath to prove it to her. He only wheezed a little bit. "You lost Frank's bowl?" he then asked his brother. Percy tried and failed to hide the mixing bowl behind his back.

Nico rolled his eyes. "I don't _care_. I've got like three extra ones."

Percy relaxed. "Oh. Well, then, how come we haven't seen them?"

"Cause I knew if you did, you'd lose them too?"

Thalia snickered and grabbed the mixing bowl from Percy, returning it to the cabinet. "See, Nico? That's why you're the smart one."

Nico smiled, while Percy just looked offended. "Hey, I think I'm definitely the smart one," he tried to insist.

"You feeling okay, angel?" Thalia asked her younger brother to change the subject before she and Percy had the chance to start arguing again. "You were coughing pretty hard.

Nico shrugged. "Just winter," he assured her. "I'll be okay. Are they awake yet?"

"No," Thalia replied in a whisper, reminding them to be quiet. "Hermes opens late today, so they might sleep in."

"Or they might decide to get up early and torture us," Percy added.

"Hey," Thalia said, glaring at him. "It's not that bad."

Nico awkwardly ran a hand through his hair, then slipped past his siblings to the other side of the room so he could take the dishes out of the sink and put them into the dishwasher. He really didn't think Percy should complain. After all, he was almost eighteen and would be out of here in just a couple months, and they left him alone for the most part anyway. Plus Thalia thought complaining was dangerous for multiple reasons and liked to promote the extinction of it in their house.

Percy was the oldest. But Thalia was in charge, and everybody knew it.

Nico finished filling the dishwasher and started it up, then grabbed clean plates from the cabinets and set them out on the kitchen table for breakfast. His siblings had moved on to their own chores, sweeping the floor under the table, cleaning out the oven, the room eerily silent as they worked.

As Nico straightened the tablecloth and started taking out the cups, he thought back to the dream he'd been having last night. Like all his dreams, he'd been in it, but this one had felt more real than most. He'd been some sort of hero, an adventurer of sorts, but with magical powers. He'd had a wicked black sword that he'd used to raise the dead, but he'd used his powers to fight evil, to protect his friends.

"Frank hasn't come in yet," Percy said after a few minutes, shocking Nico out of his thoughts. "Did you see him last night?"

"Yeah," Nico said shortly. "He'll show up."

"If he's not here by the time we leave for school, we'll have to board the windows," Thalia warned him. "You know they don't like you having a dog."

Nico crossed his arms, shivering slightly. "I know. He'll be here."

* * *

Once they'd finished and breakfast was being prepared, Percy went upstairs to do the homework he hadn't had time to finish the night before, and Nico watched his sister cook omelets while he thought back on his dream.

"I had the weirdest dream last night," he told her after a few minutes of collecting his thoughts.

Thalia glanced over her shoulder at him, frowning in concern. "Oh? About Bianca?"

Nico chuckled and shook his head. "No, no, nothing like that. It was cool. I was, like, a death god or something, I don't know. You were in it too. And Percy."

"Who was I?" Thalia asked as she turned back to the stove.

"My cousin, I think," Nico replied, "but I never referred to you as my cousin, we were just kind of acquaintances. And, like, you had these weird… lightning powers. And Percy could control water. I don't know. It was cool."

Thalia looked over at him and smiled. "That's good. Glad you're having good dreams."

Nico smirked. "Yeah… Oh, also!" He sat up straighter, suddenly excited again. "I'm reading this really good book-"

Thalia laughed. "Of course you are."

"No, shut up, it's really good. It's about, like, a guy whose dad is a Greek god. Kinda reminds me of Percy."

Thalia raised an eyebrow. "A Greek god reminds you of Percy?"

"Shut up! His son does."

She laughed again, long and clear, then ended up shushing the both of them. Nico was still grinning though. His sister didn't laugh nearly as much as he wished she did.

"I like it when you laugh," he told her, looking down at his hands in his lap. "Reminds me of Bianca."

Thalia glanced at him carefully. Nico was coughing again, rubbing his arms like he was cold. Thalia turned off the stove and came to sit next to him.

"You doing all right?" she asked, putting a hand on his arm. "I know you had kind of a rough night."

Nico just shrugged. Most nights were rough.

"You're really pale," Thalia observed, biting her lip in concern. "You sure you're getting enough air in?"

"Thalia, I'm fine," Nico insisted, taking her hand. "Now you're _really_ starting to sound like Bianca." He smiled, and so did she. "Anyway, they've got meds for me at school, I'll be okay."

Thalia nodded. "Good. They'll be up soon; why don't you go get your bag ready?"

Nico nodded and leaned forward to give her a hug before hurrying back upstairs.

Thalia Grace sat back in her chair and watched her little brother go, knowing she'd never be the sister he really wanted her to be.

* * *

**A/N: I SUCK AT ENDINGS. Anyway, I know this chapter might seem a bit… thrown together. I have a lot of sometimes coherent ideas for this fic, and I know I haven't really explained the AU yet, so I just hope it wasn't too confusing. All will be explained in chapter two, so you'll just have to stick around, won't you? (*innocent grin*) Anyway, I really hope you liked it because I'm really proud of this, so please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I told myself I'd write like six other oneshots before I continued this… That didn't happen… I really like this fic, and I hope you guys do too.**

**I'll reply to reviews before we get started.**

**Smart Girl: I have nothing to say to you, since I already answered the one question you had. But thanks for continuing to review all my fics instead of just emailing me your opinions :D I love you!**

**ShiningOpal: Have you read any of my other fics? I don't recognize your name… Anyway, I'm glad you liked the chapter. That HoO ending would definitely be interesting… Would probably result in an angry horde of fangirls storming Rick Riordan's house, though. Anyway, thanks for reviewing!**

**Elmlea: Yay I'm so glad you liked it :D :D :D Thanks for reading the unfinished version too :) And thanks for reviewing!**

**CreCra: Your name confuses me, but in a good way. I like it :D I'm glad you liked the chapter, and your explanation for Nico's breathing problems… I actually hadn't thought of that, but I think I'm gonna use it if you don't mind. Thanks for reviewing!**

**Emmafakedherdeath: Hello again. I like that you've reviewed most of my fics, like, recently :D I'm so glad you liked the chapter. Thanks for reviewing!**

**countingmoons: Yeah, I responded to you too. Thanks for reviewing and being awesome :D**

**nicodiangelofan: Thank you so much for the asthma info I desperately needed it! I don't think Nico's is gonna be that bad, though, so I might not need all you told me, but thanks anyway. And thanks for reviewing!**

**MisunderstoodSociopath: :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D Yeah, that's all you get.**

**Death is my daddy: Smiley face to you too. Thanks for reviewing!**

**TheGhostQueen2002: Yay I'm so glad you like it! Thanks for reviewing!**

**apple: I think it's interesting too, personally ;) Glad you like it. Thanks for reviewing!**

**Fireblaze: You're my new favorite person, just so you're aware. Please use asthmatic!Nico for headcanon torture, spread the love :D Anyway, thanks for reviewing!**

**And now, on to the chapter! I'm making sure to explain a bit more of the AU in this one, so I hope you guys like it and please review!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

Chapter Two

When Nico was nine, he entered the foster care system for the first time.

It hadn't mattered back then. It wasn't like his parents had ever been very present in the first place. His dad was an oil mogul with two wives and four times that many girlfriends, who hated any and all people (_especially_ his children) and had a tendency to shoot first and ask questions later, _literally_. His mother had been a sweet woman (or, at least, so Nico assumed; he didn't remember her) who died before Nico had even gone into kindergarten. His parents hadn't been family to him, not like Bianca had, or like Thalia and Percy were now. His parents had just been necessary, until they weren't anymore.

Exactly three weeks and five days after his ninth birthday, Nico's father decided he'd had enough and put his children up for adoption. Nico had neither seen nor heard from the man since.

The first foster home Nico had lived in had been amazing. The father, Jacob Lotus, had owned an old-fashioned arcade that was one dustmite away from closing down. Nico had loved it. Jacob used to always let him and Bianca play games while he worked, using a quarter on a string to trick the machines into letting them play without wasting any money. His wife Amanda had worked at an amusement park on the other side of town, where she'd get discounts on letting Nico and Bianca ride the roller coasters and water slides.

The home had been heaven. But one day, seemingly out of nowhere, the man from Social Services showed up and said he'd found a home that would suit them better.

Westover Hall had been the exact opposite of the Lotus household. It was a military school that often housed orphans (not that Nico and Bianca were orphans, they just had no mother, and their dad was a jerk), training them to serve in the army when they grew up, if they so wished (but everyone knew it really wasn't a choice). There was less freedom, less fun, and less family than Nico had had with the Lotuses, but the food was better, and they were safe, and Bianca had practically pointed out that that was all that really mattered.

For a year and a half, Bianca was the only family Nico had. Sometimes he couldn't believe how great it was to finally have someone else.

* * *

"Nico, why are you sitting on the roof?"

Nico opened his eyes with a sigh and sat up, leaning forward to look down at whoever had called up to him.

It was Hazel, Nico's next door neighbor, as well as his technical best friend (since Percy and Thalia weren't allowed to count). He wished she hadn't disturbed him; he'd been very busy thinking- about what even he wasn't sure…

"High places help me think; you know that," he called down to her.

Hazel rolled her eyes. "Well, yeah. But why are you sitting on _my_ roof?"

With a dramatic sigh, Nico lay back down and blocked the sun with one arm. "I don't know, more comfortable?" he replied. "Are you ready to go?"

"A few minutes, I think," Hazel told him. "You wanna call Leo, or should I?"

Nico sat up again to look down at her. "Isn't he still mad at you?"

Hazel was hard to see from so high up, but Nico could still picture her shoving her hands in her pockets and looking around to avoid his gaze.

"I'll call him," Nico offered, earning a grateful look from Hazel. He then sighed and rubbed his face tiredly, speaking quietly enough that Hazel wouldn't be able to hear him. "Except they're probably awake by now… I was hoping to avoid them this morning."

"You can use my phone," she called up to him, guessing what he was thinking.

Nico groaned in annoyance. "But that means I have to come down."

Hazel laughed. "You have to come down anyway," she reminded him.

Nico sighed. "True. All right, gimme a minute. I'll meet you in the kitchen."

Hazel gave him a mock salute and disappeared into the house.

Nico slowly took a deep breath, feeling the tightness in his chest that turned into a wheeze and then a coughing fit before he could get much air in.

He scrambled to his feet, coughing harshly into his sleeve, gasping for breath in between bouts. Tears pierced his eyes, but Nico refused to let them fall. When he was finally able to breathe again, he wiped his eyes, took a shaky (but successful) breath, and made his way to the edge of the roof.

* * *

Sometimes, when his breathing got really bad (or even just really _annoying_), Nico tried to think back to the time _before_ he had asthma.

It felt like a lifetime ago, but really it wasn't even five years ago that Nico could breathe just as well as everybody else.

Westover Hall training had been hard for everyone, but Nico had been a weak child from the start (Percy liked to call him Captain America, even though Percy had only seen the first twenty minutes of that movie). It was amazing how only a few months of military school had felt like a torturous, painful lifetime.

But still. Throughout all the running and the punishments and the multiple times Nico had ended up coughing up blood, he'd always been able to breathe. Amazingly, Westover had nothing to do with taking his breath away.

Sometimes, when he tried to think back to the time before he had asthma, Nico had to force himself to forget that it was also the time before he lost Bianca.

* * *

Despite the million times it had happened before, whenever Nico entered Hazel's kitchen halfway through using his inhaler, people started to assume something was wrong.

"Are you okay?" she asked him before he'd even made it through the doorway, jumping up from her seat at the table.

Nico raised an eyebrow and nodded, unable to speak since he was still holding his breath. Once he'd successfully breathed in the medicine, he shoved his inhaler back in his pocket and smirked at his friend. "You know, the few times I'm not okay, you don't ask me that."

Hazel rolled her eyes. "Shut up. Call Leo so we can get going. Are you hungry?"

"That depends," Nico replied as he picked up the cordless phone charging on the counter. "Did your sister make pancakes?"

"Yes," Hazel confirmed, pointing to a plate on the table stacked with yummy fluffy goodness.

"Then yes." Nico grabbed a pancake and folded it into quarters before dialing Leo's number on the phone.

Their friend picked up on the third ring, something that never happened since Leo was usually asleep when they called, but his greeting was a lot less joyful than usual. "I'm not going to school today."

Nico frowned and held the phone between his shoulder and his ear so he could fold his pancake further. "What do you mean you're not going? Is everything okay?"

Leo's silence spoke volumes (mainly because Leo Valdez was never _ever_ silent).

Nico glared at nothing in particular and turned his back to Hazel, hoping she wasn't listening. "Leo, not wanting to see Hazel is a horrible reason not to go to school."

"I'm in every class with her," Leo pointed out. "Avoiding her would be physically impossible."

"So just don't avoid her anymore," Nico advised. "None of us even know what she did anymore."

He could hear Leo scowling. "_I_ know."

Nico sighed. "All right. Fine. I'll just have to tell everyone you're sick then."

"I'm okay with that."

"And then, you know, my sister, always so caring, she'll probably want to come check on you."

"She's great, yeah."

"And then, being your best friend, I might just have to accidentally reveal the 'Thalia Shrine' you happen to have in your closet."

"... Pick me up in ten."

And with that, the line went dead.

Smirking to himself, Nico turned back to Hazel just to see her stabbing a pancake angrily with her fork. He shoved his own, now bite-sized, pancake into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully as he sat down next to her and put a hand on her back.

"I just don't understand what I ever did to him," she muttered.

"He's Leo," Nico reminded her with a smile. "When do we ever understand him?"

Hazel chuckled. "Good point."

* * *

**A/N: Okay, literally, I don't even know what I'm doing right now. Like, that ending? Literally just wanted to end the chapter because I have no idea what I'm doing. Also, this fic has no plot… it's just an AU. I'll eventually think of something, but… you know, if you guys have any suggestions, that'd be good too. But until then (or until I come up with something myself), awkward non-existent Hazel/Leo tension, asthmatic!Nico and Frank as a dog! Also, next chapter… mwahahaha… you get to meet the parents :D (innocent grin). Hope you liked the chapter, and please review!**


End file.
